Fireheart's Exile: Brotherhood
by Peters6221
Summary: Alternate storyline to my "Branch" story. The first 4 chapters are the same, just to set up the same scenario.
1. Chapter 1: Confrontation

**I don't own Warirors  
**

**Chapter 1: Confrontation**

Fireheart ran into camp, panting. "Rogues…attacking…Thunderclan…in danger!"

Tigerclaw was already in camp with the group of rogues Fireheart had suspected that _he_ brought. Tigerclaw's familiar battle cry rang out, and Fireheart looked over to see him attacking a rogue, confusing him. Maybe he was wrong about Tigerclaw leading them here.

Fireheart was bowled over by a large gray tabby. The rogue had him pinned on his back, and it raked at Fireheart's exposed belly. Fireheart screeched, and he kicked out the tabby's leg from underneath so that he could get away. He looked around for Tigerclaw, but he was nowhere to be seen. He feared the worst and started running to Bluestar's den, but yet again he was pinned down by the same rogue. And this time he wasn't letting go. Fireheart helplessly struggled while the rogue was about to go for the killing bite.

Suddenly the weight disappeared of his back with a jerk. Sandstorm had knocked him off. Fireheart tried to get his bearings, but was dazed. He saw the rogues finally running out of camp. Thunderclan was safe.

But he forgot about Tigerclaw. He heard Tigerclaw yowl behind him. "Bluestar has been killed in the fight!"

The Clan went silent. No one knew that Bluestar had only one life left. Except Fireheart.

"But, Bluestar still had three lives left, didn't she?" Runningwind asked.

"No." Fireheart spoke out before he realized what he was doing. "She only had one. She told me this not too long ago."

"Why didn't you say something, kittypet!" Tigerclaw growled. "The Clan deserves to know these things!"

"She gave me strict orders not to tell anyone until she died. She didn't want the Clan to worry about her."

"These have to be lies. Why would she tell a kittypet but not her deputy?"

"Maybe she didn't trust you." Once again he had spoken out without was furious.

"What kind of talk is that? Why wouldn't she trust me?"

Fireheart took a deep breath. This was his chance to expose Tigerclaw about Redtail. But what if they didn't believe him? He figured that he was getting in over his head anyway by confronting Tigerclaw in front of the clan. "I told her about Redtail."

He could see a speck of fear in Tigerclaw's eyes, which was quickly replaced by anger. "Redtail? You didn't even know him! What could you possibly know about him?"

"I know how he died. And it wasn't Oakheart who killed him. It was you." Tigerclaw was about to speak, but Fireheart cut him off. He knew that if he was going to win this battle, he couldn't let Tigerclaw say anything. He had to get his story in first. "I've spoken to several cats who were at that battle, and all of them tell the same story: Oakheart died in a rock fall before Redtail died, and Riverclan fled. That leaves you and Redtail the only two cats there, and one of you somehow didn't make it back."

"How would you know any of this?"

"At gatherings I've asked around."

"So you trust Riverclan cats more than me?"

"To be blunt, yes. Some of them, at least. I doubt the entire Clan would lie unless they were lied to by the cats at the battle." He glared at Tigerstar accusingly. "And Ravenpaw. I've asked him multiple times over the course of moons, and he remembers the same thing: you killing Redtail."

"How could you ask him? He's dead!"

"He's not. He ran away because you were spreading rumors that he was a spy, and he suspected that you were going to kill him for knowing. He was too scared of you to come forward about it himself, but he told me. I've talked to him in the moons since he left."

"So you think I'm a murderer because some Riverclan cats and a dead cat told you so?"

"It's evidence. More than you have. You are the only cat here that knows exactly what happened, but I have a pretty good guess."

"Fireheart," he heard Whitestorm speak, "this is ridiculous! I would have never expected something like this from you." He started to panic. He was riding on the clan's support, but he was losing it.

"I've heard enough of you kittypet. You shouldn't be here. Ever since you've come, you've never been able to adhere to the warrior code. You lied to the clan about multiple things, like Ravenpaw and Bluestar's lives. And now you're accusing your new leader of murder. You're deteriorating, Fireheart. You had a good run, but now you are just becoming a burden. I don't think you should live here anymore."

Fireheart was furious! Tigerclaw was trying to get rid of him. And he acted like he was trying to be nice about it, too!

"Fireheart, he is right. You haven't done much to help your cause recently, too. You lied about Ravenpaw being alive, you lied about Bluestar's lives, you lied about Graystripe's affair, and now you expect us to believe Tigerclaw is a murderer. I'm sorry, but I don't think you should stay, either." Other cats started to meow in agreement.

This was devastating coming from Whitestorm. The entire clan would side with Whitestorm now. He was on the verge of losing his home.

**This goes hand-in-hand with my "Branch" one, so if you've already read it, skip the first 4 chapters. They are exactly the same. Chapter 5 is where different things start happening.**


	2. Chapter 2: Exile

**I still don't own any of the warriors stuff**

**Chapter 2: Exile**

"Fireheart, I believe I would have the support of the clan if I were to exile you. And I will."

Fireheart flinched at the words. He… he had just lost his home. He lost everything he worked so hard and fought for all these moons.

He walked towards the gorse tunnel and he could feel the entire clan staring at him. No one said a word. He walked by Sandstorm, who turned away from him in disgust. It was such a shame, too. She had finally stopped with the kittypet insults. He suddenly remembered the prophecy. Fire alone can save our clan. He turned around and looked across camp.

"You will regret this. One of these days, you will need me. I don't know why or when, but you will."

He padded out the tunnel before he could see a reaction. He didn't care anymore. He was too devastated to care. Fireheart figured Tigerclaw would put a death sentence on him, so he decided to leave Thunderclan territory. He walked along the river until he was on the side of the gorge in Windclan territory. He knew it was dangerous to be there, but it wasn't any different than standing in Thunderclan's, with one difference: Windclan didn't have a death sentence on him. He looked over the gorge, and took a few steps back. He prepared himself to jump.

Was he really ready to go through with this? He had just lost everything he had worked so hard for all his life, and there was no point to living anymore. But he didn't feel any cat should die like this. Throwing himself off a cliff in despair? Hardly an honorable death.

He heard a voice behind him. It was Tallstar. "Just because you brought us back doesn't give you free passage on our territory. What are you even doing here?"

"I was just leaving." He just walked upstream and went beyond Windclan territory.

**A/N**

**I've read some stories where he tries to kill himself and I decided to NOT do that.**

**This chapter is very short, but I wanted to leave 1 with a cliffhanger and felt like that was a suitable ending for the chapter.**

**I feel like I'm kind of cheating because this is a short chapter. Maybe I'll post the next one in a couple days since I have 8 written so far.**


	3. Chapter 3: What Should I Do?

**Guess what? I still don't own Warriors**

**Chapter 3: What Should I Do?**

He wandered up the river until nightfall. He found a small cardboard box on its side and he crawled into it, and then he knocked it over so he was under it. He heard rain start to fall, along with thunder in the distance. The thunder only reminded him of Thunderclan. It made him feel lost and lonely. He drifted off to sleep with the soft patter of rain on his box.

The next morning, he woke up in a daze. For a moment he had forgotten yesterday's events, but it came flooding back to him like a badger's blow. He wondered what he should do with his life.

Should he try to join Windclan? _No, I couldn't just join another Clan like that. It's not easy_. Maybe he could try being a kittypet again. _Maybe. My former owners should be excited to see me again_. He made the trek back down the river until it started to look familiar again. It then occurred to him that he could try to live with Ravenpaw and Barley. Why wasn't this the _first_ thing he thought of? He would have friends to live with.

He approached to old barn they lived in. "Ravenpaw!" he called out.

"Fireheart? Is that you? What are you doing here?"

"Tigerclaw killed Bluestar. Or at least I think he did. Since he was leader, he exiled me, so now I don't have a home. I was wondering if I could come live with you."

Ravenpaw stared at him with wide eyes for a moment before he slowly responded, "Sure. I don't mind the company. I really feel horrible for you. You worked so hard to do what no other cat could do, and you lost it all at once. You deserve a nice place to live."

"Thanks."

He stayed with Ravenpaw for a few days, but he grew restless. He couldn't stand a sedentary lifestyle. He had to _do_ something. He had to have a purpose. He explained this to his friend, and he part ways with him. He was a rogue again.

**Still short. I'll try to make them longer I promise**

**Sorry, that chapter was boring. And I know I didn't make Ravenpaw sound sympathetic, but I tried. Just pretend that Ravenpaw was extremely sympathetic.**

**Since Ch. 2 was short, and this was short, I guess they make one chapter together? Oh, and I'm noticing lack of reviews...**


	4. Chapter 4: Revisiting an Old Home

**Nope, STILL don't own Warriors...**

**Chapter 4: Revisiting an Old Home**

He cut back across the back of Windclan territory and wandered into the twolegplace. He went back to visit his old home. He didn't have any intention of staying, but he visited just because he could. When he got there, he saw a new kittypet. She was a brown tabby.

"Hello, there," she mewed. "Who are you?"

"I'm Fireheart. I used to live here. I'm looking for Smudge, actually."

"He went inside not too long ago. I doubt he would want to come back out."

"That's a shame. I wanted to talk to him before I go."

"Go where?"

"I've hit a rough patch in my life and I'm resorting to wandering."

"When you said you used to live here, why did you leave?" She sounded worried.

"I just wasn't fit for a kittypet lifestyle. My owners were great to me, but I just couldn't live like that. I went to live in the forest."

"You're a wild cat?"

"Well, I was, until a tyrant came to power and forced me out of my home. Now I don't know where to go."

"I'm sure my… our owners would love to have you back. I could use someone to live with."

"No, thanks. I couldn't go back to being a kittypet after living in the forest. It's just not who I am."

"Well, whatever suits you. I wish you well in your new life. It was nice meeting you."

"It was nice to meet you, too. What did you say your name was again?"

"Hattie."

"Well, nice to visit, but I should be going. And tell Smudge that Rusty said 'hi.'"

Just as he was about to go, he saw a bird perch itself on a fencepost and he instinctively dropped into a hunter's crouch. "I guess I haven't eaten in a day or so…" he muttered. "I have some food if you want it." Hattie obviously didn't understand that he wanted the bird for a meal, not twoleg food. Fireheart jumped up at the bird and hooked it on his claws and drug it down to the ground. He finished it off with a killing bite. He glanced over at Hattie, and she looked horrified.

"What did you do _that_ for?"

"Food. What do you think we ate in the forest? Grass?"

"I…I don't know. But why would you kill something like that for food?"

"You've obviously never had real meat. Here, have a bite."

"No-no thanks." "Fine. Your loss. It tastes great."

He finished his meal and buried the bones, with Hattie watching with the same horrified look on her face.

**A/N**

**This chapter is here just for the sake of fluff. Filler material. Unimportant stuff between interesting events. Whatever you want to call it. This is where the two different endings branch off. I will alternate between releasing chapters for this one and the other one.**


	5. Chapter 5: Travelling

***sigh* blah disclaimer blah don't own blah**

**Chapter 5: Travelling**

He said goodbye to Hattie and set off back to the river.

_Now, where to go? Maybe back through twolegplace? No sane Clan cat would dare follow me through there. I could start a new life away from the Clans._

He went along a small Thunderpath for a while, finding a mouse along the way for a meal. As the sun was setting, he found a small garden and curled up in the corner, hoping no one would find him until morning.

He woke up to a paw poking his head.

"What are you doing in my garden?" A small tan she-cat asked.

"Just spending the night. I'll be going now." He hopped up onto the fence.

"But who ar-" He hopped away before she could finish her question. He didn't want the trouble.

As he travelled further into the twolegplace, he noticed that the nests were growing larger, and the gardens smaller. All that separated them now were alleys and small lawns. He couldn't find any prey, though he spent a considerable amount of time trying to track.

_Twoleg rubbish. Ugh. I had hoped never to resort to eating this. _ He forced himself to eat the stinking food the twolegs had throw away. He once again had to find a place to spend the night. An alley seemed the most secluded. He started walking into one, only to be met with a hiss.

You'll leave if you know whats good for you."

Fireheart couldn't see that cat, but could see its blue eyes reflecting light. "I'm not exactly helpless in a fight."

"Oh, is that a challenge?"

"I'd rather not get myself into trouble right now. I'm just trying to find a place to spend one night."

There isn't a free alley for half a day's walk from here. If there ever is one, it's taken in moments. So good luck finding one. You'll need it.

Fireheart turned and walked away, squaring his shoulders to at least appear tough. He sat down outside the alley and looked around. He saw a staircase on the outside of a twoleg nest and decided to try it out. It was cold and hard and it have any bedding, but it was somewhere at least.

Over the next few days, the twoleg nests started getting smaller, more like the ones he was used to seeing. The cats seemed friendly, too, unlike the ones in the alleys.

Fireheart hopped up on a fence and looked around. Then he saw it. A forest. A small one, but still like he had known.

_I should check this out. It kind of reminds me of home._ He stood at the boundary for a moment before heading in. He remembered the first time he had set paw in the forest when he was a young kit. He remembered how mysterious and wonderful it was. Now, those feelings weren't the same. He felt confident, like he knew, like he owned the place. Apparently, the locals didn't like that.

**A/N**

**Copy/paste is a disaster on this site. I had to re-type half the story.**


	6. Chapter 6: The Brotherhood

**I really hope you know what goes up here and the message it conveys by now**

**Chapter 6: The Brotherhood**

A cat plowed into Fireheart's flank at full pelt, knocking him over and knocking the wind out of him. He looked up to see three cats, one brown, one a blue-ish gray, and the third white.

"It's unwise to just walk into here." The brown one spoke.

"It's our territory, and we don't necessarily like outsiders," meowed the gray one.

_Oh, how much have I heard THIS bit before?_

"So now, we fight. To teach you a lesson." The white one had a cold voice. "And we're the toughest ones around."

The white one seemed to tell the truth. They were fairly big cats, but they appeared to be slow. When the grey one lunged at him, he exploited this. Fireheart dodged under him, and kicked him up into a tree trunk. The brown one had pounced, too, and had pinned Fireheart to the ground, clawing his flank. It was clear that these cats weren't just trying to scare him.

Fireheart focused all of his energy into pushing his attacker off and slicing its flank, letting blood flow down the cat as it shrieked in pain. The white one also lunged at him, but Fireheart jumped sideways and tripped him up. He then pinned the white cat and held his claw to its throat.

"Try to attack me again and he gets it," Fireheart growled. He questioned whether or not he could even carry out the threat, but they seemed to believe him. The others just looked at him in fear.

"Stand down, brothers" the white one groaned. "Let him go. Though, I think he's worthy."

"What do you mean 'worthy'?" Fireheart dared asking.

"Worthy to join us, of course." The brown one answered."Who's 'us'?"

"We are the brotherhood. We aren't really brothers, of course, but it's a name that's been here for generations." The gray one spoke up. "We are selected in accordance to our strength and color of pelt." _Seems like odd criteria._ "I am Rain."

"I am Wind" said the white one.

"And I am Earth," meowed the brown continued, "There are traditionally four of us, but Blaze, our orange one, unfortunately… met his death a couple of days ago."

"May I ask how?""Well, he went out hunting alone a few days ago, and we went out to look for him when he didn't come back. We found him by the road in a pool of blood. Must have been hit by one of those twoleg monsters. That's what it looked like. He wouldn't have been easy to murder."

_'Road' must be their word for Thunderpath. If they're talking about the same monsters I think they are talking about. _"So you're looking for someone to fill his spot?"

"Well, yes. Most of the house cats around here are scared of us."

"I can't imagine why…"

"And you're strong. You've clearly had some experience fighting, too. We would let you join."

"I guess I need a new home. Sure."

"We have some customs you'll need to get used to, but you seem like a good fit."

"I'm sure I can handle it."

"So, what's your name?"

"Fireheart."

"You'll have to drop the last part of it for your name to really fit in."

"…I guess. It's not exactly a permanent name."

**A/N**

**Hey, be sure to check out my "Branch" story if you haven't already. As I've mentioned before, these stories go hand in hand **

**So, I started to set this up and wrote a couple chapters and started to publish it to all you lovely readers, then halfway through writing this chapter I thought, "Derp this is cheesy and stupid… but oh well I guess I gotta keep going. Can't deprive everyone of the story I promised." There were better ways than this to reach the ending I have planned out, but I guess this is unique-ish. **

**So now he's just "Fire." He left the clan and joined a cult, basically. Why a brotherhood? Because I suck at writing love plots so I wanted to keep that possibility out of it.**


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